Octavarium - Music
Octavarium by Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Artist Biography For Dream Theater
Dream Theater Is An American Progressive Metal Band Formed In 1985 Under The Name Majesty By John Petrucci John Myung And Mike Portnoy While They Attended Berklee College Of Music In Boston Massachusetts. They Subsequently Dropped Out Of Their Studies To Concentrate Further On The Band That Would Eventually Become Dream Theater. Their Current Lineup Consists Of Petrucci Myung Vocalist James LaBrie Keyboardist Jordan Rudess And Drummer Mike Portnoy. Over The Course Of Various Lineup Changes Petrucci And Myung Have Been The Only Two Constant Members And Portnoy Remained With The Band Until 2010 When He Left To Pursue Other Musical Endeavors And He Has Since Been Replaced By Mangini. After A Brief Stint With Chris Collins Followed By Charlie Dominici Who Was Dismissed From Dream Theater Not Long After The Release Of Their First Album LaBrie Was Hired As The Band's Singer In 1991. Dream Theater's First Keyboardist Kevin Moore Left The Band After Three Albums And Was Replaced By Derek Sherinian In 1995 After A Period Of Touring. After Just One Album With Sherinian They Replaced Him With Current Keyboardist Jordan Rudess In 1999. To Date Dream Theater Has Released Fifteen Studio Albums. The Band's Highest-Selling Release Is Their Second Album Images And Words 1992 Which Reached No. 61 On The Billboard 200 Chart. Both The Albums Awake 1994 And Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence 2002 Also Entered The Charts At No. 32 And No. 46 Respectively And Received Critical Acclaim. Their Fifth Album Metropolis Pt. 2 Scenes From A Memory 1999 Was Ranked Number 95 On The October 2006 Issue Of Guitar World Magazine's List Of The Greatest 100 Guitar Albums Of All Time. It Was Also Ranked As The 15th Greatest Concept Album In March 2003 By Classic Rock Magazine. As Of 2018 Dream Theater Has Sold Over 12 Million Records Worldwide And Has Received Three Grammy Award Nominations Including One Win In 2022 . Along With Queensrÿche And Fates Warning The Band Has Been Referred To As One Of The "big Three" Of The Progressive Metal Genre Responsible For Its Development And Popularization. Full Wikipedia Article Https //en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/Dream_Theater Studio Albums
When Dream And Day Unite 1989 Images And Words 1992 Awake 1994 Falling Into Infinity 1997 Metropolis Pt. 2 Scenes From A Memory 1999 Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence 2002 Train Of Thought 2003 Octavarium 2005 Systematic Chaos 2007 Black Clouds & Silver Linings 2009 A Dramatic Turn Of Events 2011 Dream Theater 2013 The Astonishing 2016 Distance Over Time 2019 A View From The Top Of The World 2021
Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Octavarium
Dream-Theater - Octavarium
Octavarium Is A Song By Progressive Metal Band Dream Theater From The Album Of The Same Name. It Is Notable As Being The Band's Third Longest Song At Exactly 24 Minutes Behind "In The Presence Of Enemies" And "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence". Both Songs However Span Through Various Tracks On Their Respective Albums Systematic Chaos And Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence Which Makes "Octavarium" The Band's Longest Studio Track. It Was Featured On The Live Album Score. The Song Starts With Jordan Rudess Using His Haken Continuum And His Lap Steel Guitar Drawing References From Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" Tangerine Dream Marty Friedman's Scenes And Queen's "Bijou". Movements I. Someone Like Him
0 00 - 8 47 8 47 Lyrics By John Petrucci Beginning With A Lengthy Continuum / Lap Steel Guitar Solo By Rudess This Section Is Told From A First-Person Perspective. It Portrays The Thoughts Of A Person As He Decides On What To Do In The Course Of His Lifetime As Well As His Wish To Never Become An Ordinary Person. He Fails However In Changing Into Becoming The Person He Wished To Become Eventually Becoming 'Someone Like Him'. This Is Also In Line With The 'Full Circle' Theme Of Octavarium "this Story Ends Where It Began". It Is Also Speculated That The Lyrics Refer To John Petrucci Taking The Place Of Those That Inspired Him. By Whom? II. Medicate Awakening 8 48 - 13 49 5 01 Lyrics By James LaBrie A Person Wakes Up To Discover A Doctor Sitting At His Bedside. The Doctor Informs Him That He Has Been In Catatonic Sleep For 30 Years. The Doctor However Believes He Was Able To Cure Him. Suddenly The Patient Is In Dire Need Of Help As He Feels His Conscience Fading. The Doctor Prescribes A Higher Dosage Of Medicine But It Doesn't Seem To Help. Despite The Doctor's Failure In Assisting Him The Patient Tells The Doctor That He's Not At Fault And That He Shouldn't Feel Ashamed. Eventually The Patient Slips Back Into Unconsciousness. This Is In Line With The Events Of The Movie Awakenings. Again This Also Reflects The Theme Of 'Everything Ends Where It Began.' III. Full Circle
13 50 - 16 36 2 46 Lyrics By Mike Portnoy Full Circle Is Mike Portnoy's Ode To Progressive Rock Shown In The Lyrics By Several Underlying References To His Favourite Songs Bands And More. Once Again A Reference Is Made To The Unifying Theme Of The Song 'Everything Ends Where It Begins' . The Enumeration Using The Last Syllable/word As The Beginning Of The Next Reference Enhances The Message That Everything Is Linked A Common Theme Throughout Dream Theater's Albums. I.E. Day For Night Mare Cinema Show . Isn't This Where We Came In? - Pink Floyd's The Wall Sailing On The Seven Seas - Possible Reference To Queen’s Seven Seas Of Rhye Or Primus's Sailing The Seas Of Cheese. Seize The Day - A Change Of Seasons Day Tripper - Beatles Jack The Ripper - Morrissey Tim "Ripper" Owens - Ex-Judas Priest And Iced Earth Singer Owen Wilson - Actor Wilson Phillips - Band Supper's Ready - Genesis Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - Beatles Diamond Dave - David Lee Roth Dave’s Not Here – Cheech And Chong Here I Come To Save The Day – Mighty Mouse Day For Night - Spock's Beard Nightmare Cinema – Dream Theater's Band Name When Their Players Swap Instruments The Cinema Show - Genesis Show Me The Way - Styx Get Back - Beatles Flying Off The Handle - Peter Blegvad King Strut Handle With Care - Travelling Wilburys Careful With That Axe Eugene - Pink Floyd Gene The Dance Machine - The Gong Show / Character In The Film Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind Machine Messiah - Yes Light My Fire - The Doors Pinhead Gabba Gabba Hey - The Ramones Hey Hey My My - Neil Young My Generation - The Who Home Again - Taken From The Song Time By Pink Floyd IV. Intervals
16 36 - 19 53 3 17 Lyrics By Mike Portnoy Before Each Stanza In The Lyrics Mike Portnoy Says A Scale Degree. In Each Stanza A Song From Octavarium Is Referenced And An Audio Clip From That Song Is Played On The Background. Root Our Deadly Sins Fill His Mortal Wrath
Remove All Obstacles From Our Path Fifth Tortured Insanity A Smothering Hell
Try To Escape But To No Avail The Root Of All Evil Panic Attack Second Asking Questions Search For Clues
The Answer's Been Right In Front Of You Sixth The Calls Of Admirers Who Claim They Adore
Drain All Your Lifeblood While Begging For More The Answer Lies Within Never Enough Third Try To Break Through Long To Connect
Fall On Deaf Ears With Failed Muted Breath Seventh Innocent Victims Of Merciless Crimes
Fall Prey To Some Madmen's Impulsive Designs These Walls Sacrificed Sons Fourth Loyalty Trust Faith And Desire
Carries Love Through Each Darkest Fire Octave Step After Step We Try Controlling Our Fate
When We Finally Start Living It's Become Too Late I Walk Beside You Octavarium To Finish The Octave LaBrie Repeats The Line "Trapped Inside This Octavarium" Meaning That The Speaker Is Trapped In The Octavarium's Full Circle Which Begins And Ends The Same. To Enunciate The Intensity Of This Statement LaBrie Screams The Line Straining His Voice More Than He Had Done For Over A Decade. By The Time The Song Reaches The Fourth Repeat Of The Line His Voice Has Reached As High As F#5 Tying For The Highest Note Heard On A Dream Theater Studio Song Matching The Famous F# In "Learning To Live". During Live Performances LaBrie Usually Sings The First Three Lines The With The Same Notes Then Jumps To The Note On The Last Two Syllables Of The Word "Octavarium" Sometimes Going As High As G5 Holding The Note And Doing Trills Downwards On The Last. V. Razor's Edge
19 52 - 23 58 4 06 Lyrics By John Petrucci This Movement Simply Emphasizes The Cyclical Nature Of All Things As Well As The Album As It Begins Where It Ends Using The Same Melody As The End To The First Track It Also Ends With The Same Note That The Root Of All Evil Begins With. There Is Also An Alternative Ending Where The Main Flute Theme Is Reprised And Faded At The End Of The Song. This Movement Also Serves As The Capstone For The Song And The Album Which Shares Its Name Being The Fifth Movement In The Eighth Song On The Album. In This Way It Continues The 5 8 Theme. When Performed Live As Part Of "Schmedley Wilcox" On Chaos In Motion Mike Portnoy Adds In Additional Vocal Emphasis To Portions Of This Movement.
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Biography - Dream Theater
Dream Theater Is An American Progressive Metal Band Formed In 1985 Under The Name Majesty By John Petrucci John Myung And Mike Portnoy While They Attended Berklee College Of Music In Boston Massachusetts. They Subsequently Dropped Out Of Their Studies To Concentrate Further On The Band That Would Eventually Become Dream Theater. Their Current Lineup Consists Of Petrucci Myung Vocalist James LaBrie Keyboardist Jordan Rudess And Drummer Mike Portnoy. Over The Course Of Various Lineup Changes Petrucci And Myung Have Been The Only Two Constant Members And Portnoy Remained With The Band Until 2010 When He Left To Pursue Other Musical Endeavors And He Has Since Been Replaced By Mangini. After A Brief Stint With Chris Collins Followed By Charlie Dominici Who Was Dismissed From Dream Theater Not Long After The Release Of Their First Album LaBrie Was Hired As The Band's Singer In 1991. Dream Theater's First Keyboardist Kevin Moore Left The Band After Three Albums And Was Replaced By Derek Sherinian In 1995 After A Period Of Touring. After Just One Album With Sherinian They Replaced Him With Current Keyboardist Jordan Rudess In 1999. To Date Dream Theater Has Released Fifteen Studio Albums. The Band's Highest-Selling Release Is Their Second Album Images And Words 1992 Which Reached No. 61 On The Billboard 200 Chart. Both The Albums Awake 1994 And Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence 2002 Also Entered The Charts At No. 32 And No. 46 Respectively And Received Critical Acclaim. Their Fifth Album Metropolis Pt. 2 Scenes From A Memory 1999 Was Ranked Number 95 On The October 2006 Issue Of Guitar World Magazine's List Of The Greatest 100 Guitar Albums Of All Time. It Was Also Ranked As The 15th Greatest Concept Album In March 2003 By Classic Rock Magazine. As Of 2018 Dream Theater Has Sold Over 12 Million Records Worldwide And Has Received Three Grammy Award Nominations Including One Win In 2022 . Along With Queensrÿche And Fates Warning The Band Has Been Referred To As One Of The "big Three" Of The Progressive Metal Genre Responsible For Its Development And Popularization. Full Wikipedia Article Https //en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/Dream_Theater Studio Albums
When Dream And Day Unite 1989 Images And Words 1992 Awake 1994 Falling Into Infinity 1997 Metropolis Pt. 2 Scenes From A Memory 1999 Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence 2002 Train Of Thought 2003 Octavarium 2005 Systematic Chaos 2007 Black Clouds & Silver Linings 2009 A Dramatic Turn Of Events 2011 Dream Theater 2013 The Astonishing 2016 Distance Over Time 2019 A View From The Top Of The World 2021 read less
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When Dream And Day Unite 1989 Images And Words 1992 Awake 1994 Falling Into Infinity 1997 Metropolis Pt. 2 Scenes From A Memory 1999 Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence 2002 Train Of Thought 2003 Octavarium 2005 Systematic Chaos 2007 Black Clouds & Silver Linings 2009 A Dramatic Turn Of Events 2011 Dream Theater 2013 The Astonishing 2016 Distance Over Time 2019 A View From The Top Of The World 2021 read less
16 Similar Artists To Dream Theater - Frogtoon Music
Liquid Tension Experiment Symphony X James LaBrie John Petrucci Haken Circus Maximus Jordan Rudess Transatlantic Pain Of Salvation Flying Colors Sons Of Apollo Ayreon Threshold Queensrÿche Opeth Caligula's Horse.
Octavarium is a song by progressive metal band Dream Theater, from the album of the same name. It is notable as being the band's third longest song at exactly 24 minutes, behind "In the Presence of Enemies" and "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence". Both songs, however, span through various tracks on their respective albums, Systematic Chaos and Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, which makes "Octavarium" the band's longest studio track. It was featured on the live album Score.
The song starts with Jordan Rudess using his Haken Continuum and his lap steel guitar, drawing references from Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", Tangerine Dream, Marty Friedman's Scenes, and Queen's "Bijou".
Movements
I. Someone Like Him
0:00 - 8:47 (8:47)
Lyrics by John Petrucci
Beginning with a lengthy Continuum / lap steel guitar solo by Rudess, this section is told from a first-person perspective. It portrays the thoughts of a person as he decides on what to do in the course of his lifetime, as well as his wish to never become an ordinary person.
He fails, however, in changing into becoming the person he wished to become, eventually becoming 'Someone like Him'. This is also in line with the 'Full Circle' theme of Octavarium: "this story ends where it began".
It is also speculated that the lyrics refer to John Petrucci taking the place of those that inspired him.[by whom?]
II. Medicate (Awakening)
8:48 - 13:49 (5:01)
Lyrics by James LaBrie
A person wakes up to discover a doctor sitting at his bedside. The doctor informs him that he has been in catatonic sleep for 30 years. The doctor, however, believes he was able to cure him. Suddenly, the patient is in dire need of help as he feels his conscience fading. The doctor prescribes a higher dosage of medicine, but it doesn't seem to help. Despite the doctor's failure in assisting him, the patient tells the doctor that he's not at fault, and that he shouldn't feel ashamed. Eventually, the patient slips back into unconsciousness. This is in line with the events of the movie Awakenings.
Again, this also reflects the theme of 'Everything ends where it began.'
III. Full Circle
13:50 - 16:36 (2:46)
Lyrics by Mike Portnoy
Full Circle is Mike Portnoy's ode to progressive rock, shown in the lyrics by several underlying references to his favourite songs, bands and more. Once again a reference is made to the unifying theme of the song ('Everything ends where it begins'). The enumeration using the last syllable/word as the beginning of the next reference enhances the message that everything is linked, a common theme throughout Dream Theater's albums. (i.e. Day for Night, mare Cinema, Show).
Isn't this where we came in? - Pink Floyd's The Wall
Sailing on the seven seas - possible reference to Queen’s Seven Seas of Rhye or Primus's Sailing the Seas of Cheese.
Seize the day - A Change of Seasons
Day Tripper - Beatles
Jack the Ripper - Morrissey
Tim "Ripper" Owens - ex-Judas Priest and Iced Earth singer
Owen Wilson - actor
Wilson Phillips - band
Supper's Ready - Genesis
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - Beatles
Diamond Dave - David Lee Roth
Dave’s Not Here – Cheech and Chong
Here I Come to Save the Day – Mighty Mouse
Day for Night - Spock's Beard
Nightmare Cinema – Dream Theater's band name when their players swap instruments
The Cinema Show - Genesis
Show Me The Way - Styx
Get Back - Beatles
Flying off the Handle - Peter Blegvad, King Strut
Handle with Care - Travelling Wilburys
Careful With That Axe, Eugene - Pink Floyd
Gene the Dance Machine - The Gong Show / character in the film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Machine Messiah - Yes
Light My Fire - The Doors
Pinhead (Gabba Gabba Hey) - The Ramones
Hey Hey, My My - Neil Young
My Generation - The Who
Home Again - Taken from the song Time, by Pink Floyd
IV. Intervals
16:36 - 19:53 (3:17)
Lyrics by Mike Portnoy
Before each stanza in the lyrics, Mike Portnoy says a scale degree. In each stanza, a song from Octavarium is referenced, and an audio clip from that song is played on the background.
Root Our deadly sins fill his mortal wrath
Remove all obstacles from our path Fifth Tortured insanity, a smothering hell
Try to escape but to no avail
The Root of All Evil Panic Attack
Second Asking questions, search for clues
The answer's been right in front of you Sixth The calls of admirers who claim they adore
Drain all your lifeblood while begging for more
The Answer Lies Within Never Enough
Third Try to break through, long to connect
Fall on deaf ears with failed muted breath Seventh Innocent victims of merciless crimes
Fall prey to some madmen's impulsive designs
These Walls Sacrificed Sons
Fourth Loyalty, trust, faith and desire
Carries love through each darkest fire Octave Step after step, we try controlling our fate
When we finally start living it's become too late
I Walk Beside You Octavarium
To finish the Octave, LaBrie repeats the line "Trapped inside this Octavarium", meaning that the speaker is trapped in the Octavarium's full circle, which begins and ends the same. To enunciate the intensity of this statement, LaBrie screams the line, straining his voice more than he had done for over a decade. By the time the song reaches the fourth repeat of the line, his voice has reached as high as F#5, tying for the highest note heard on a Dream Theater studio song, matching the famous F# in "Learning to Live". During live performances, LaBrie usually sings the first three lines the with the same notes, then jumps to the note on the last two syllables of the word "Octavarium", sometimes going as high as G5, holding the note and doing trills downwards on the last.
V. Razor's Edge
19:52 - 23:58 (4:06)
Lyrics by John Petrucci
This movement simply emphasizes the cyclical nature of all things, as well as the album, as it begins where it ends, using the same melody as the end to the first track, it also ends with the same note that The Root of All Evil begins with. There is also an alternative ending where the main flute theme is reprised and faded at the end of the song.
This movement also serves as the capstone for the song and the album which shares its name, being the fifth movement in the eighth song on the album. In this way, it continues the 5:8 theme. When performed live as part of "Schmedley Wilcox" on Chaos in Motion, Mike Portnoy adds in additional vocal emphasis to portions of this movement.
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